ManaSota-88 seeks EPA review of Piney Point site

Aerial photos of the former Piney Point phosphate plant located just south of the Hillsborough-Manatee county line, adjacent Port Manatee. The retention ponds are nearing their capacity. (August 29, 2013, Herald-Tribune Staff Photo by Thomas Bender)

Published: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 at 5:45 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 at 5:45 p.m.

PALMETTO - A local nonprofit has asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to open a federal investigation into the state's handling of the shuttered Piney Point phosphate processing plant in northern Manatee County.

ManaSota-88 Inc. is seeking a review by the agency's Atlanta office, according to a certified letter mailed this week.

The letter requests a probe into the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's oversight, and whether it violated federal laws by permitting dredging storage there.

The group contends that a lack of state oversight led to 170 million gallons of toxic material being spilled into Bishop Harbor in 2011.

The letter also alleges that the DEP may have breached the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act a dozen times when it approved a Piney Point sale and when it failed to safely close down the facility.

Environmentalists hope the federal government will step in before contaminated phosphate reservoirs there overflow. More than 525 million gallons of rainwater — potentially laden with radioactive phosphate residue — is stored on the property, state records show.

"The EPA is responsible for the oversight of phosphogypsum stacks, but they delegated their authority (of Piney Point) to the DEP," ManaSota-88 chairman Glenn Compton said. "Now the DEP is not doing its job, so we have to go back to the EPA for enforcement. They need to step in and investigate."

Representatives from HRK Holdings LLC, the bankrupt company that now owns Piney Point and is responsible for its environmental maintenance, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

"The Department is confident that is has upheld its responsibilities under the existing laws and rules of the State of Florida, as well as fulfilled its obligations under the Clean Water Act," DEP spokeswoman Dee Ann Miller wrote in an email Tuesday.

An EPA spokesman declined comment.

"There's just not much we can say about it at this point because it could lead to an investigation," EPA spokesman James Pinkney said.

Repair remain undone

Piney Point is a former phosphate processing plant on 680 acres in north Palmetto that was abandoned in 2001 after its owner filed bankruptcy.

Because phosphate waste is considered toxic — containing uranium, radium and sulfuric acid — it is stored in massive container beds.

The state approved a $4.3 million sale of Piney Point to HRK in 2006, and DEP granted permits for dredging disposal shortly thereafter.

But a rip in the stacks spilled enough toxic water into Bishop Harbor to serve 425,000 average U.S. households for a day, according to DEP estimates.

That discharge had prolonged exposure to lead, cadmium, chromium, ammonia, arsenic and other metals — at levels that could pose severe health risks, according to the EPA.

More than two years later, little has been done to clean up the site. At least half a dozen repairs remain undone, and little money is available for cleanup.

Meanwhile, contaminated rainwater continues to build up in reservoirs and a 77-acre emergency container.

HRK has not submitted a long-term plan to treat or remove the hazardous fluid, despite a state mandate.

"The only place we had left to turn was the EPA," Compton said. "We hope they take a hard look at what the DEP has allowed to occur at that site."

Florida has spent more than $140 million trying to close Piney Point, and another $20 million will likely be required.

"It never hurts to get the EPA involved to do an overview like this," said Thomas Reese, a St. Petersburg environmental attorney familiar with Piney Point. "The state's enforcement has been nonexistent, and the contamination levels are becoming dangerous."

<p><em>PALMETTO</em> - A local nonprofit has asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to open a federal investigation into the state's handling of the shuttered Piney Point phosphate processing plant in northern Manatee County.</p><p>ManaSota-88 Inc. is seeking a review by the agency's Atlanta office, according to a certified letter mailed this week.</p><p>The letter requests a probe into the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's oversight, and whether it violated federal laws by permitting dredging storage there.</p><p>The group contends that a lack of state oversight led to 170 million gallons of toxic material being spilled into Bishop Harbor in 2011.</p><p>The letter also alleges that the DEP may have breached the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act a dozen times when it approved a Piney Point sale and when it failed to safely close down the facility.</p><p>Environmentalists hope the federal government will step in before contaminated phosphate reservoirs there overflow. More than 525 million gallons of rainwater — potentially laden with radioactive phosphate residue — is stored on the property, state records show.</p><p>"The EPA is responsible for the oversight of phosphogypsum stacks, but they delegated their authority (of Piney Point) to the DEP," ManaSota-88 chairman Glenn Compton said. "Now the DEP is not doing its job, so we have to go back to the EPA for enforcement. They need to step in and investigate."</p><p>Representatives from HRK Holdings LLC, the bankrupt company that now owns Piney Point and is responsible for its environmental maintenance, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.</p><p>"The Department is confident that is has upheld its responsibilities under the existing laws and rules of the State of Florida, as well as fulfilled its obligations under the Clean Water Act," DEP spokeswoman Dee Ann Miller wrote in an email Tuesday.</p><p>An EPA spokesman declined comment. </p><p>"There's just not much we can say about it at this point because it could lead to an investigation," EPA spokesman James Pinkney said.</p><p>Repair remain undone</p><p>Piney Point is a former phosphate processing plant on 680 acres in north Palmetto that was abandoned in 2001 after its owner filed bankruptcy.</p><p>Because phosphate waste is considered toxic — containing uranium, radium and sulfuric acid — it is stored in massive container beds.</p><p>The state approved a $4.3 million sale of Piney Point to HRK in 2006, and DEP granted permits for dredging disposal shortly thereafter.</p><p>But a rip in the stacks spilled enough toxic water into Bishop Harbor to serve 425,000 average U.S. households for a day, according to DEP estimates.</p><p>That discharge had prolonged exposure to lead, cadmium, chromium, ammonia, arsenic and other metals — at levels that could pose severe health risks, according to the EPA.</p><p>More than two years later, little has been done to clean up the site. At least half a dozen repairs remain undone, and little money is available for cleanup.</p><p>Meanwhile, contaminated rainwater continues to build up in reservoirs and a 77-acre emergency container.</p><p>HRK has not submitted a long-term plan to treat or remove the hazardous fluid, despite a state mandate.</p><p>"The only place we had left to turn was the EPA," Compton said. "We hope they take a hard look at what the DEP has allowed to occur at that site."</p><p>Florida has spent more than $140 million trying to close Piney Point, and another $20 million will likely be required.</p><p>"It never hurts to get the EPA involved to do an overview like this," said Thomas Reese, a St. Petersburg environmental attorney familiar with Piney Point. "The state's enforcement has been nonexistent, and the contamination levels are becoming dangerous."</p>